Today with Des and Mel

Today with Des and Mel
GenreChat show
Presented byDes O'Connor
Melanie Sykes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesCarlton Television (2002–04)
Granada Productions (2004–06)
ITV Productions (2006)
Original release
NetworkITV
Release30 September 2002 (2002-09-30) –
12 May 2006 (2006-05-12)
Related
Live with Regis and Kelly
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Today with Des and Mel is a British chat show that aired on ITV from 30 September 2002 to 12 May 2006 and was hosted by Des O'Connor and Melanie Sykes.[1]

The show featured celebrity guests, phone-in competitions and chat between the hosts. It was loosely based on the format of the popular American television show, Live with Regis and Kelly.

Although the filming pattern varied, for much of the show's run, Monday's, Tuesday's, and Wednesday's programmes were recorded 'as live' very shortly before start of transmission (typically being recorded about half an hour prior), while Thursday's and Friday's episodes were pre-recorded in a separate block on Wednesdays.

The series pulled in extremely high ratings for its daytime slot, and as a result at one stage, the show was given the green light for an evening version to be made. For a brief time in early 2005, the show appeared in a 5pm slot, but this was soon dropped, and a full prime-time version never came about.

  1. ^ Percival, Ash (15 November 2020). "Melanie Sykes Pays Heartbreaking Tribute To Former Co-Host Des O'Connor: 'It Was An Education And Privilege'". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 5 June 2023.